Wednesday, November 19, 2014

"MEMPHIS, TN — Memphis Police said with the help of the Orange County, Florida, Sheriff positively identified the man who fatally shot himself Monday evening during a traffic stop near Sam Cooper Boulevard as Sean Petrozzino, the 30-year-old quadruple amputee who was a person of interest in the Nov. 4 death of his parents in Florida.

"According to Memphis Police report just before 6 p.m. on Nov. 10 an officer on routine patrol observed a red Toyota Camry make an illegal U-turn at Sam Cooper and Tillman. The officer got behind the vehicle southbound on Vandalia near Nathan and activated his blue lights and siren in an attempt to stop the vehicle.

"After the Camry stopped, the officer got out of his cruiser and started to approach the car. The officer then heard what appeared to be a gunshot from inside of the vehicle. The driver, identified as Mr. Petrozzino, was found slumped over with an apparent gunshot wound to the head and was pronounced deceased on the scene.

"MPD said the officer found a black semi-automatic pistol in the front seat of the Camry. Upon further investigation, officers discovered that the tags on the victim's vehicle did not belong to the vehicle. The VIN (vehicle identification number) did show that the Camry was registered to a Orange County, Florida couple who were the victims of a homicide on Nov. 4.

"Homicide detectives with the Orange County Sheriff were notified and traveled to Memphis after telling MPD that Mr. Petrozzino was a suspect in the deaths of his parents."

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Abstract

"Murder-suicide is an act in which the perpetrator of a homicide kills him or herself after killing the victim(s). Rates of murder-suicide are fairly consistent across communities and are much lower than rates for homicide or suicide. The most common murder-suicide scenario involves a White male perpetrator in his 40s who kills his estranged spouse and perhaps his children before killing himself. The three most common categories of murder-suicide are cases in which (1) the act is caused by jealously or concern about age or illness; (2) the act is perpetrated by a parent who kills all of the children and then themselves; and (3) the act involves disgruntled employees, cult members, or members of religious or political groups who target a large number of victims before committing suicide. "